Underrunning trolley for electric railways



S. H. SHORT.- RUNNING TROLLEY FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

r P an 01 C Patented Sept. 7, 1897 u u I I u m ,1 C

UNDER 2 SheetS Sheet 2.

(No Model.)-

S. H. SHORT.

UNDERRUNNING TROLLEY FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS. N0. 589,624.

Patented Sept 7, 1897.

- Inventor. Sid/MU J? Shiv F Attorney.

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SIDNEY II. SHORT, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

UNDERRUNNING TROLLEY FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION-forming part of Letters Patent No. 589,624, datedSeptember 7, 1897. Application filed July 29, 1896. Serial No. 600,924.(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SIDNEY H. SHORT, of Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Underrunning Trolleys, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in an improvement in under-running trolleys forelectric railways,hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Figure l is a top plan view of the trolleybase; Fig. 2, averticalcentral section through the pivot and locking device; Fig. 3, a sideelevation of the trolley-base with the lower part in vertical centralsection; Fig. i, a side elevation of the upper end of the trolley-pole;5, a front elevation of the same; and Fig. 6, a front elevation of thecontact-relic1-,partly in section, to show the bearings.

A represents a plate adapted to fasten to a suitable support on the rootof a car, provided. with ribs o. and witha central hub.

Bis an arm which has a downward projection B, adapted to fit and turn inthe hub of plate A and having two upwardly-proj ectin g lugs M, betweenwhich is hinged a socket O, which and clamp the lower end of atrolley-pole S.

At the lower end of socket O is a crosshead 1), to the ends of which aresecured two springs E E, the other ends hein g fastened to a cross-headF, moving on a threaded bolt H, set in the end of arm 13, and upon eachside of cross-head F are nuts G, by which said cross-head maybe moved totighten or loosen the springs E.

0 represents a bolt set firmly in the central portion of the arm B andextending down through that portion of said arm which swivels in plate Aand at its lower end is provided. with a lug 0, adapted to engage with anotch in plate A, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

J represents a head on bolt 0, and K a spiral spring which encirclessaid bolt and holds it normally upward, thus keeping lug o engaged withthe notch in plate A and preventing said arm B from turning or swivelingon its pivot until bolt 0 is depressed, so

as to free lug ofroni engagement with plate A.

I I represent cotter-pins, by which the springsE are heldin thecross-heads D and F. The outer end of the trolley-pole S fits in asocket Y, formed at the base of a triangular frame Q, preferably builtof bicycle-tubing, the upper end of which carries a long contactrollerP, the ends of which are preferably provided with ball-races \r',between which and a cone U on an axle T lies a set of balls V, so thatcontactroller P turns very freely. This roller P is made of considerablelength, long enough to compensate for the slight irregularities whichexist in parallelism between the track and an ordinary overhead wire,and at its ends is made plain, as shown in the drawings, so that shouldthe car be derailed the roller P will not catch the overhead wire, butsaid wire will slip freely over its ends.

X X represent nuts on the ends of the axle T.

R represents a clip, to which may be secured a rope running down to apoint within convenient reach of the conductor.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The trolley being mountedon a car underneath an overhead wire, the rollerP is pressed up againstsaid wire by the springs E, and as said roller is mounted onbalthearings and as, moreover, the roller does not follow the wire, asin the ordinary trolley,

' the upward pressure can be much lighter than in the ordinary groovedtrolley, such as the Nuttall, in which the upward pressure must besu'l'licieut to give the wire a good hold on the grooved wheel andenable it to move the trolley-arm sidewise. The spring tension can beregulated by nuts G G. lVith this form of trolley thereis the additionaladvantage that where heavy currents are used more than one overhead wiremay be J of the bolt 0, and a boss L may be formed on the socket O forthat purpose. Continued downward motion of the trolley-pole after itreaches a point below which it will ever go in actual service depressesbolt 0 until lug 0 releases its engagement with plate A, when thetrolley may be swung bodily around until it reaches a point one hundredand eighty degrees from its former position, when on being released bolt0 will again engage with another notch in plate A and hold the trolleyfirmly in its new position. Intermediate notches maybe formed in plateA, if desired.

A further great advantage of this trolley is that it entirely obviatesthe necessity for the boxes or switches now so largely in use and whichare a source of great trouble and etc pense both in erection andmaintenance. Vith this trolley it is only necessary to bring theswitch-wire up to the main trolley-wire and clamp or fasten the twotogether without any switch whatever. IVhere a road is fitted withswitch-boxes, this trolley will operate perfectly upon them and will notout the boxes, as does the grooved contact-wheel.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An underrunning trolley comprising a base-plate having a central hub,a casting arranged to be seated in said hub, a trolleypole carried bysaid casting, said trolley-pole being pivotally mounted to swingvertically, a movable look for normally locking said hub and castingagainst relative rotation, said lock arranged in the path of verticalswing of said trolley-pole, whereby, when said pole is depressed, said.lock is encountered thereby and disengaged from lockin g position,thereby permitting said casting to rotate in its seat in said hub, andan elongated contactroller carried by said trolley-pole, as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. In an underrunning trolley, abase-plate provided with a central hub,a casting having a sleeve arranged to be received in said hub, atrolley-pole pivotally mounted on said casting to swing vertically, amovable bolt arranged in said sleeve and normally engaging said hub,whereby said sleeve is locked against axial rotation in said hub, saidbolt arranged in the path of vertical movement of said pole, whereby,when said pole is depressed, said bolt is engaged thereby and depressedout of locking position, and an elongated contact-roller carried by saidtrolleypole, as and for the purpose set forth.

In an underrunning trolley, a base-plate provided with a central hub, acasting arranged to be seated in said hub, a trolley-pole pivotallymounted on said casting to swing Vertically thereon, alongitudinally-movable bolt mounted on said casting and in the path ofvertical swing of said pole, a spring normally acting to maintain saidbolt in position to lock said casting against rotation in said hub,whereby, when said pole is depressed, said bolt is engaged thereby andprojected against the action of said spring to unlock said casting, andan elongated contact-roller carried by said pole, as and for the purposeset forth.

4. In an underrunning trolley, a base-plate provided with a' central hubhaving a seat or recess formed in the under edge thereof, a castingarranged to be seated in said hub, a bolt mounted in said casting andhaving a bent lower end, a spring arranged to normally maintain saidbolt in position for the bent end thereof to be seated in said recess, atrolley-pole pivotally mounted on said casting to swing vertically, saidbolt arranged in the path of vertical swing of said pole, whereby, whensaid pole is depressed, said bolt is engaged thereby and projectedagainst the action of said springina direction to disengage the lockedend thereof from the seat in said hub, and an elongated contact-rollercarried by said pole, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In an underrunning trolley, a base-plate provided with a central hub,an arm having a projection adapted to be received and seated in saidhub, a socket pivotally mounted on said arm to swing'in a verticalplane, a crosshead carried by the lower end of said socket, a baradjustably mounted on said arm. springs respectively connected at theends thereof to said bar and cross-head and normally acting to maintainsaid socket in vertical position, a lock arranged in the path orvertical movement of said socket and adapted to lock said projectionagainst rotation in said hub, whereby, when said socket is depressed,said lock is-engaged thereby and unseated, a trolley-pole mounted insaid socket and an elongated contact-roller carried in the free end ofsaid arm, as and for the purpose set forth.

SIDNEY I-I. SHORT.

WVitnesses:

F.-W. BUN'rs, CHAS. B. KELLEY.

